Gold for April delivery advanced $26.40, or 2.2%, to settle at $1,227.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since March 2.

"The precious metals bulls are revived after a two-week meltdown in prices. Short covering in the futures markets and bargain hunting in the cash markets were featured following the recent strong selling pressure," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A weakening U.S. dollar index late this week has helped to rally gold and silver markets. "

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,218.10 to a high of $1,234. They slipped 0.2% on Wednesday, ending at their lowest level since Jan. 30.

Elsewhere, silver for May delivery surged 40.7 cents, or 2.4%, to close at $17.33 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.25 and $17.59. They were unchanged in the previous session, matching their settlement on Friday for the lowest close since Jan. 26.

In other precious metals futures on Thursday

April platinum rose $21.60, or 2.3%, to $958.40 an ounce, ranging from $953.30 to $973.80.

Palladium for June delivery soared $21.20, or 2.8%, to $766.65 an ounce, trading between $760.80 and $775.85.

London Precious Metals Prices

In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:

Gold jumped $30.55, or 2.6%, to $1,229.35 an ounce.

Silver gained 55 cents, or 3.3%, to $17.46 an ounce.

LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017

U.S. Mint bullion sales advances included 2,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 1,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.

Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.

US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins)

Thursday Sales

Last Week

This Week

Feb Sales

Mar Sales

2017 Sales

$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin

0

0

0

0

0

20,000

$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin

0

3,500

2,500

21,000

6,000

113,500

$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin

0

0

1,000

5,000

1,000

25,000

$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin

2,000

0

2,000

4,000

2,000

42,000

$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin

15,000

10,000

20,000

30,000

30,000

185,000

$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin

1,000

500

2,500

15,000

3,000

50,000

$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin

0

280,000

220,000

1,215,000

500,000

6,842,500

2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin

0

0

0

19,500

0

19,500

2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins*

–

2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin*

–

2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin

0

0

0

0

0

0

2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin*

–

2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin

0

0

0

0

0

0

Update: This article was edited to change London gold from $1,129.35 to $1,229.35.